


Boy Wonder

by Fi_TeamFreeWill



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, I Tried, NOT BIRDFLASH, Sorry it might suck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 18:50:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6670639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fi_TeamFreeWill/pseuds/Fi_TeamFreeWill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dick does nothing but train. Bruce is worried. So, he introduces the shy nine-year-old to Wally West, in the hopes that someone else his age will draw Dick out of his shell. One-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boy Wonder

**Author's Note:**

> So...this is my first fic on AO3...be nice, please!

Bruce's gruff voice crackled through the speakers of Barry's cell phone the moment he answered. "I need your help," his friend growled.

"What is it?" Barry questioned in response, attempting to withhold a dry chuckle. After all, it wasn't often Batman needed your help.

"It's about Dick. Ever since his parents were killed, he's done nothing but train. I mean, I get it, I really do, but it's gotten to the point where he won't eat or sleep unless I force him to. And even then it's just the bare minimum to keep him going for the day. I'm worried about him, and he won't talk to me."

"Mhmm...how exactly can I help with that?"

"Well, I'm not sure you can, exactly. It's more your nephew. I think if Dick meets some others like him, he might open up a bit more."

"Alright. Come to my place this weekend. Iris is dying to have you over again anyways."

There was a pause at the other end of the phone. "Thanks, Barry." Then, a bit more forced, he added, "I owe you one."

"Forget it. That's what friends are for, right?"

The heroes chatted for a while longer, before Bruce realized he'd better get home and make Dick eat some dinner. Bruce strode straight to the training room to find Dick training, as always.

"Come on. Alfred's made a roast, and I want you to eat something," Bruce said.

The kid was hanging from the rafters, flipping from beam to beam and doing ten pull-ups at each one. "I'm-unh-not hungry," Dick replied, his words punctuated by strained grunts.

"I wasn't asking. Go," he told him sternly. Dick rolled his eyes but complied, and trudged wearily out of the room.

Bruce didn't tell Dick about the visit he'd set up. He figured it was best to surprise him with it, so the boy couldn't think of an excuse not to come. Saturday finally rolled around, and Bruce managed to catch his protege before he headed into the training room.

"Not today, Dick. I've got something planned for today," Bruce told him.

Dick brightened visibly. "Sweet! What, like a scouting mission? Infiltrating the CIA? Bombing the Joker's lair?!" He asked excitedly.

"Sorry. We're heading over to Barry Allen's place to relax a little," Bruce replied, feeling almost sorry for crushing the kid's hopes.

"Oh. Why? We should be training!"

"Because you need to get away from that. It's not healthy to train all day, every day. It'll be fun!"

Dick followed obligingly after his mentor, grumbling. The car trip to Barry's house was stonily silent, with Bruce's ward staring out the window and not saying a word.

"Bruce! Great to see you again! We've missed you," said Iris as a way of greeting. "And this must be Richard. Pleasure to meet you!"

"I prefer 'Dick'" he replied shortly, brushing past Iris's extended hand.

"Dick! Don't be rude," Bruce chided. Dick said nothing, instead slinking towards the living room, where a young boy a few years older than him was eating and watching television. Dick stood by the edge of the room for a few moments. The boy ignored him for a while before turning to him, clearly uncomfortable with the silence.

"Hey. Who're you?" The boy asked.

Dick glared at him, untrusting. "Does it matter?"

"Well, I'd like to think so. If our mentors are going to keep being buddy-buddy, it would be nice to know each other's names," the kid replied snarkily.

"Fine. I'm Richard Grayson. Most people call me Dick. I'm assuming you're Wally West, aka 'Kid Flash'?"

"That'd be me."

The two boys sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. Finally, Wally, who was never one to remain quiet for long, offered Dick portion of his chips and dip.

Dick perched himself on the edge of the worn couch warily. "Sure, I guess. Thanks. So, how did you get to be Flash's sidekick?"

"Oh, I replicated the experiment he used on himself. It was pretty easy, actually. What about you? Sidekick to the Caped Crusader?"

"My parents were murdered and he's helping me get revenge."

Wally didn't seem put-out by this at all, as most people were. "That really sucks, but, like, what can you do, right? Anyways, it's a killer origin story. Think of it: 'Dick Grayson, the boy who lost everything, returns as Robin: Boy Wonder.' Cool, right?"

Dick nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess. Although, 'Boy Wonder'? Not sure how I feel about that one..."

Wally laughed. "It's cool! You'll learn to love it. Hey, want to see this science project I'm working on?"

"Sure," Said Dick. He was beginning to warm up to this cheery ball of energy. Wally was straightforward; he could appreciate that. There were no mind games, like there could be with Batman.

Wally leapt off the couch and ran at supersonic speed to his room (just to show off a bit). Dick laughed for the first time in months, charging after his new friend.

Later, as Dick was preparing for some much-needed sleep, the suit Batman had given him caught his eye. He had yet to wear it on an actual mission, because he felt like a fake whenever he put it on, like a super-hero wannabe. Now, he slid it on and stared at himself in the mirror. He stood tall, puffed out his chest, lifted his chin, and grinned. It made an extraordinary difference. He didn't look like a sulky little kid playing dress-up anymore. He looked...like a hero. Wally's words came back to him: "Dick Grayson, the boy who lost everything, returns as Robin: Boy Wonder." He chuckled to himself, thinking, Maybe you're right, Wally West. Maybe "Boy Wonder" wouldn't be so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, there you have it! Also, someone pointed this out to me, but I'd already posted it and I was too lazy to fix it. I realize that in reality, Gotham and Central City are much farther than a car ride away, but for this story, let's just assume they're only a few miles away.


End file.
